Career Exploration Lab for Youth

Career Exploration Lab for Youth

by | Apr 2, 2020 | Building a Stronger Fayette

Nearing their 50th anniversary, Adelphoi Village has been expanding their programming to better serve youth in over 30 counties, including Fayette County. The nonprofit serves youth who are at-risk, abused, neglected, delinquent, or struggling with academic or behavior issues. The Adelphoi Albert Gallatin Education Site received a Spring 2019 CFFC grant for the Career Exploration Lab, which provides STEAM programming to support a Career Preparation Initiative.

Adelphoi Village has found that tactile, hands-on learning is most effective and rewarding for the youth they serve and have combined that with preparing students for the workforce. “We want to give the students an opportunity to at least be exposed to various trades,” explained Kerry Ozmeleck, Career Readiness Supervisor/Education Services Liaison.

The Adelphoi Albert Gallatin Education Site serves K-12 students, and provided an Emergency Medical Responder career readiness course for students grades 9-12. All students are able to take the course and complete basic certifications, such as CPR certification, with the opportunity to complete additional certifications if they are interested in learning more, such as EMR certification. This course helps prepare students to work on an ambulance crew, which is an area that shows job growth in the coming years.

Joscelyn Gaston, Education Director, and Susan Takach, Education Supervisor, noted that students are excited to see their names on the certificates and that these hands-on experiences are a confidence-booster for students.

The Career Exploration Lab is equipped with a virtual reality welding system, residential wiring, AC/DC circuitry, an automobile brake training system, coding/robotics, Emergency Medical Responder and CPR training, and horticulture, and Adelphoi Village is expanding these materials to its other education sites as well. In addition to education services, Adelphoi Village operates residential group homes, foster and adoptive care, and in-home treatment options to provide a continuum of services to children, youth, and families.

Mission Statement: Offering outcome-based solutions for abused, neglected, delinquent and other at-risk children and their families through a continuum of treatment and education services that provide a foundation of hope for the future.

Learn more about Adelphoi Village at www.adelphoi.org.

CFFC Awards Grant for CACTC’s Career Cafe

CFFC Awards Grant for CACTC’s Career Cafe

by | Aug 16, 2019 | Building a Stronger Fayette

Connellsville Area Career and Technical Center (CACTC) opened the Career Café, a student-run store that sells food items, clothing, and supplies in May 2019. Following CACTC’s mission and vision to prepare every student with academic, technical, and career skills needed to enter the workforce and to pursue continuing education, the Career Café provides unique opportunities to build skills.

The CFFC awarded CACTC a Fall 2018 grant for the Career Café, which is operated by the Building and Trades Program students under the supervision of their teacher, Mr. Bill Guess. The goal is to help improve secondary transition opportunities that will prepare students for life after high school, including post-secondary education or training, employment, and community living.

Dr. Shawna Little, Workforce Development Coordinator, noted the importance of soft skills in the workforce, such as customer service, communication, and conflict resolution. The Career Café provides students with real-world work experience in the popular, and in-demand, industry of retail. Particularly for students with disabilities, these opportunities help develop transferable skills that target goals set in their Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).

Before the Career Café opened for business, there were ten students who put their vocational skills to work by organizing the space. They built the counter area and helped transform the classroom, which was brought to life with the Appalachian Creativity Center’s full-room mural. “The students worked as a team, communicated and collaborated effectively, and created a finished project from scratch,” said Dr. Little. To learn more about CACTC, visit their website!